Ghernian War
The Ghernian War was the single largest multinational war to occur within the territories of Voldrania, which raged from October 11, 57 AE to May 16, 59 AE. The war occurred as a result of lingering frustrations caused by the Near War, which saw Fallnavor and Akarv nearly go to war over political and colonial differences. When Fallnavor's overly aggressive leader was ousted in a coup the Near War ended, but Fallnavorian ally Tripoly retained its bitter feelings towards Akarv. They managed to cement an alliance with Akarv's Ghernian colonies, who had become bitter towards their "parent nation" for harsh military sanctions and increased occupation after decades of neglect, during which time they had grown distant. Together the two parties declared war on Akarv. In response to Tripoly and Tedre's declaration of war, Fallnavor came to Akarv's aid in an attempt to repair relations between the two nations, and Akarv's close Near War ally Scavoran also joined the war effort for a short time before receding to focus on itself, rather than international business. So the war went on between Akarv/Fallnavor and Tripoly/Tedre, waged largely within Tedre and along its border with Hera, as well as the Ghernian Sea and the Strip. The war only ended after a Tripolian/Tedren invasion into Fallnavor was met with fierce resistance, resulting in the deaths of both invading nations political and military leaders. At the same time, the largely neutral Hera intervened in the war, seizing the Tripolian capital in a swift and effective surprise attack. __TOC__ Course of the War Declaration and Preparation Tripoly formally declared war on Akarv on October 11, 57 AE in a formal letter, unaccompanied by an attack. This came after months of diplomatic tension resulting from the debate over Akarv's Ghernian colonies, and years of poor relations caused primarily by the Near War. The declaration was echoed by Tedre and Murena, Akarv's two major colonies west of Hera. Despite the years of tension, nothing immediately happened. There were no battles waged until three months after Tripoly and Tedre's declaration of war, leading many to believe they were not at all serious. In truth, both needed the declaration to rally public support to even stand a chance against a major power like Akarv. For its part, Akarv worked to organize and mobilize its troops in defensive positions, while tactically withdrawing it's soldiers based in Tedre as to protect them from aggression. During this "lull" before the first battle, Fallnavor reached out to Akarv to offer its support against Tripoly and the "rogue colony". Akarv was also able to convince the Scauv government to lend its aid in combat. Finally, in January of 58 AE, the joint Akarvian, Fallnavorian, and Scauv alliance made their first move, hitting the eastern shores of Tedre. Invasion of Tedre Knowing they were be completely outmatched by Akarv and its allies, Tedre and Tripoly spent the inactive months establishing several major defensive outposts designed to prevent invading forces from advancing to the capital. When Akarvian, Fallnavorian, and Scauv troops landed on Tedren shores they found themselves forced to fight an uphill battle just to gain a foothold. They came armed with a sizeable airship fleet, but found that they were susceptible to specially designed cannons capable of shooting them downed, designed primarily by Tedren engineers. Despite Tedre and Tripoly's impressive defensive capabilities, they were ultimately outmatched by the three invading nations, each armed with slightly superior weapons and ships. So while it was neither easy nor quick, the three invading forces made their way through the Tedren landscape towards its acting capital. Defending Tedre took top priority for both Tedre and Tripoly, and so they were unable to spare any forces to initiate a counter attack to weaken the invaders advance. The battle took its toll, though. After six months of fighting the militaries on both sides were tired and exhausted, Scavoran more than any others. Boasting the smallest military of its allies, Scavoran had never intended to get involved in a war as brutal as the Ghernian War had been up to that point, and after careful consideration they made the tactical decision to withdraw from the war, sparing its soldiers any more loss. This decision was met with annoyed understanding from both Akarv and Fallnavor, who remained entrenched in Tedre, close to victory. Unfortunately for the invading forces, Scavoran's departure from the war turned out to be exactly what Tripoly and Tedre needed to turn the tide. Scavoran's withdrawl not only cut the invading forces by 1/3, but it also gave Tedren and Tripolian forces a major boost to their morale, and it convinced Murena to more seriously back the war effort. Within a month Akarvian and Fallnavorian forces had lost almost half of the ground they'd gained, and so they made the tactical decision to pull out of Tedre entirely. Defending the Heran Border After their loss in Tedre, Akarv and Fallnavor turned to Hera, who had been largely neutral up to that point. They had, however, publicly declared their support for Akarv and Fallnavor, though they were wary of retribution from Tripoly and Tedre, who bordered them on the east and west, respectively. So, after brief negotiations, Akarvian and Fallnavorian forces were allowed to establish military outposts along the Heran borders with both nations, effectively cutting off all ground transport between the two. Meanwhile the Akarvian and Fallnavorian navies patrolled the Ghern Sea, and several smaller battles were waged along the Tripolian shore. For the most part the military outposts in Hera were silent, but it added an extra layer of security that helped maintain friendly relations with Hera. However, there were a few notable skitmishes along the western border with Tedre. The most notable of these battles occurred in October 58 AE, which saw a force of Tedren soldiers attack an Akarvian outpost overnight. The startled Akarvian soldiers managed to put up a defensive line, but not before their commanding officer was killed. This forced Dakota Peerk to take charge, and under her leadership the Tedren forces were driven back, resulting in a victory for the Akarvians. Peerk would later go on to become Akarv's highest ranking military officer. Invasion of Fallnavor After the failed invasion of Tedre the war largely fell into a stalemate. While Akarvian and Fallnavorian forces maintained their defensive positions in Hera and hit key coastal bases, they were unable to make any real ground. Likewise, Tripolian and Tedren forces were far too occupied trying to defend their territory to make a counterattack. This changed in November of 58 AE when Zade Zen and Cali Pox, the leaders of both Tripoly and Tedre, personally led an assault north through Tedre into Fallnavor. The attack caught Fallnavor completely off guard, and they scurried to move their forces in Hera back to Fallnavor to halt the invaders, who were able to move quickly and unchallenged through Fallnavorian territory. Their plan was to swiftly take the Fallnavorian capital, or otherwise force them into submission so that Akarv would be alone in the war. By the beginning of 59 AE Fallnavor had managed to slow the invaders march, but was still fighting a losing battle. Despite their presence in Fallnavor, Tripoly and Tedre were both able to maintain their defensive positions preventing Akarv from gaining any ground. With Fallnavor rapidly losing ground, they and Akarv came together to come up with a new strategy. They pooled their resources and set up a single major defensive outpost at a major military center in central Fallnavor. Taking the outpost would be critical to the invaders success, so there was no chance they would bypass it. The invasion was brought to a crawl by this point, but the Tripolian and Tedren forces finally made it to the outpost that May, and were met by the Akarvian and Fallnavorian troops waiting for them. The ensuing battle was the single most deadly in not only the Ghernian War, but in all of Voldranian history up to that point. Early on in the battle it was clear that the defending forces had the upper hand, but a small faction of the invaders, including both sides leaders, managed to break their way inside where they directly faced the defending Generals and their forces. After a long, tense, battle the Akarvian and Fallnavorian forces were victorious. Both Zade Zen and Cali Pox were killed in the fighting, and once this news broke out it led to an amost immediate surrender from the rest of the invading forces. The commanding officers were taken prisoner, but the soldiers were told to turn around and go home. Neither side had the taste for any more inhumanity after what they had just gone through. Operation Vagrant While Zade Zen and Cali Pox were fighting their final battle in Fallnavor, Hera was executing an unexpected, calculated, sneak attack on the Tripolian capital. Most of Tripoly's forces not in Fallnavor were stationed in posts on the shore, and were completely caught off guard by the attack. The attack itself was masterminded by recent Heran leader Inker Poker, who had earned the distrust and skepticism of many other world leaders in the months before the attack. Within a single night the invading Heran forces had completely swarmed the Tripolian capital, coming in primarily by airship. Military outposts and political centers were immediately captured and forced into submission, and the leaders of each were made to announce the cities capture to its populace. By sunrise the fighting had stopped, and by noon word had spread that Zade Zen had been killed. These two events together ultimately forced Tripoly into ending its involvement in the war. Surrender Hera began an occupation of Tripoly immediately after the end of Operation Vagrant, and in an effort to make the transition of power easier they instituted Zarkan Zen, Zade's brother, as the new Tripolian ruler. When peace talks began it was Zarkan who spoke on behalf of Tripoly, though he was escorted by Heran officials. After a year and a half of war and the death of Zade the Tripolians were ready for it to be over, and were willing to cooperate fully at the negotiation table on the condition that Tedre be granted its freedom from Akarv. Akarv initially denied Tripoly's requests, unwilling to part with its longstanding colonies. But as the peace talks went on it was clear that the Tripolians were not going to back down. Likewise, the Tedres themselves outright refused to even entertain peace talks. Despite Cali Pox's death their fighting spirit burned on, though without Tripoly's backing their was little they could do. After a week of no progress at the peace table, the Akarvian Senate voted to allow both Murena and Tedre's secession. The Akarvian Senate's decision was met poorly by President Pyro, though he ultimately honored their decision and allowed the colonies to go on their own with no further military action. Much like Tripoly, Akarv was also ready for the warfare to end. Aftermath Immediately after the war Hera began an occupation of Tripoly, during which time they instated Zarkan Zen as ruler. However, Akarv took it upon themselves to begin their own occupation of Tripoly, against Hera's wishes. Ultimately the Akarvian presence in Hera was kept minimal, but it caused a significant strain on short term relations between Hera and Akarv. In contrast to this, Akarv and Fallnavor now shared a close alliance with one another, despite being at the others throat during the Near war only four years prior. The secession of Tedre, and their annexing of Murena, was met with mixed responses in Akarv, though the populace was generally content to just be out of the war. This did not mean Akarv and Tedre shared positive relations, both still harbored bitter resentment against the other. This did not stop Fallnavor from forming a relationship with Tedre, however. Though, this was never truly able to manifest due to Voldrania's collapse the following year. The aftermath of the Ghernian War also brought Scavoran and Fallnavor to near war-level tensions. While Scavoran's withdrawl was not challenged at the time, many Fallnavorians came to harbor a resentment against Scavoran for their actions, claiming that had they stayed in the war it could have ended far sooner, and spared far more lives. Likewise, Scavoran still harbored old resentments of Fallnavor from its founding years, and they bitterly opposed Fallnavor's decision to allow Mynyydite exiles into their nation as full citizens. Diplomacy fell so low that both nations constructed defensive barries along their border, and began arming themselves for war. The war would never come to be, though, due to the Fall of Voldrania. See Also *Voldrania *Notable Conflicts *Voldranian Timeline *Near War Category:Events Category:Voldranian Events Category:Akarv Category:Baratan Category:Fallnavor Category:Hera Category:Jados Category:Scavoran